Layout of a nuclear microprobe beamline using a liquid metal ion source

The Bochum solenoid lens microprobe will be installed in a new configuration which can be fed both by the 4 MV Dynamitron tandem accelerator and by a new 500 kV accelerator of extremely low energy-spread (Delta E/E similar or equal to 10(-5)). Apart from a conventional duoplasmatron ion source, a commercial gallium liquid metal ion source (LMIS) will be implemented in this accelerator. Microprobe optics will benefit from the high brightness of the LMIS (similar to 10(5) Am(-2)sr(-1)eV(-1)), thus enabling an increased lateral resolution. Ion optical ray tracing, simulating the accelerator tube and the solenoid lens, has allowed one to specify the beam parameters required at the accelerator entrance to yield a micrometer focus at the target position. Using this information and further simulations, the accelerator injection optics can be particularly optimized for the new microbeam line. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.